Placemat with interchangeable attachments

ABSTRACT

A convertible placemat comprising a placemat; a removable attachment, where the removable attachment fastens to a top surface of the placemat; and a securing means, where the securing means fastens the removable attachment to the placemat. The removable attachment may illustrate themes and holidays with a variety of shapes like a clover, heart, basket, pumpkin, turkey, Christmas tree or birthday cake. The convertible placemat provides a user with one placemat that may interchange decorative appearances at will by the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a placemat set that allows for exchange of various themed embellishments to decorate the placemats as desired by a user.

2. Description of Related Art

Holiday parties are especially festive when the host or hostess decorates their home to match the celebrated holiday. Some people decorate everything from wall hangings, trees, fireplaces and dining tables. They are able to carry the holiday theme throughout the house to engulf the attendees in a festive spirit. Many times the dining room and dining table are one of the most elaborately decorated areas because of all the pieces that may be customized and embellished. The hostess may set up an elaborate centerpiece, surrounded by individually assembled place settings. The tables are beautiful to view, but are typically expensive to execute.

Because of the continuously changing themes and holidays, keeping up with changing a table setting can be space consuming to store all of the pieces and expensive to have a different setting for every holiday. The host often has to pick and choose which holidays they wish to decorate, because they cannot store all the different placemats, linens and centerpieces desired for every holiday. Therefore, it would be beneficial in the art to provide a single place setting that allows for use with different themes. It would also be desirable in the art to provide a place setting that allows for exchange of decorative embellishments to cut down on storage space and decorating costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, the general purpose of the present invention is to provide a convertible placemat with removable attachments, configured to include all of the advantages of the prior art, and to overcome the drawbacks inherent therein.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a convertible placemat where the placemat includes a removable attachment to embellish the placemat.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a convertible placemat where the removable attachment is shaped to illustrate a specific holiday or theme. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a convertible placemat and removable attachment, where the removable attachment is fastened to the placemat with a securing means.

To achieve the above objects, in an aspect of the present invention, a convertible placemat is described comprising a placemat; a removable attachment, where the removable attachment fastens to a top surface of the placemat; and a securing means, where the securing means fastens the removable attachment to the placemat. The removable attachment may illustrate themes and holidays with a variety of shapes like a clover, heart, basket, pumpkin, turkey, Christmas tree or birthday cake. The convertible placemat provides a user with one placemat that may interchange decorative appearances at will by the user. These together with other aspects of the present invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the present invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part of this present invention. For a better understanding of the present invention, its operating advantages, and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:

FIG. 1A depicts a top view of a placemat with a clover attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B depicts a top view of a placemat with a heart attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C depicts a top view of a placemat with an Easter basket attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1D depicts a top view of a placemat with a pumpkin attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1E depicts a top view of a placemat with a turkey attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1F depicts a top view of a placemat with a Christmas tree attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1G depicts a top view of a placemat with a birthday cake attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 1H depicts a top view of a placemat with a removable attachment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the description of several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention relates to a placemat set that allows for exchange of various themed embellishments to decorate the placemats as desired by a user. The invention provides a convertible set of placemats to provide a user with multiple looks for a single placemat. The convertible set of placemats includes a set of base placemats which include a variety of interchangeable attachments to reflect the current holiday or theme. The attachments are easy to place and easy to remove for unlimited exchange of embellishments on the base placemat.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, referring to FIG. 1, a top view of a convertible set of placemats 10 is shown according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The convertible set of placemats 10 includes a base placemat 12 with a removable attachment 14. The placemat 12 may comprise a circular (as shown), square or rectangular shape depending on the likes and preferences of the user. Also, the edging of the placemat 12 may be scalloped for an aesthetic appeal. The placemats may be available in sets of 4, 8 and 12 individual placemats 12 depending on the number of place settings necessitated by the user. The placemat 12 may be plastic, cloth, wood, vinyl or other materials commonly used for placemats.

The attachment 14 may illustrate a variety of shapes, colors and themes. The attachment 14 may reflect the current holiday, special occasion or sentiment that the user is trying to display.

For example, for St. Patrick's Day the attachment 14 may be a clover 14 a (see FIG. 1A), a leprechaun, a pot of gold or a rainbow. For Valentine's Day the attachment 14 may be a heart 14 b (see FIG. 1B), a box of chocolates, or flowers. For Easter the attachment 14 may be an

Easter basket 14 c (see FIG. 1C), a bunny, or an Easter egg. For Halloween the attachment 14 may be a pumpkin 14 d (see FIG. 1D), a witch, a ghost, a monster, a spider or the like. For Thanksgiving the attachment 14 may be a turkey 14 e (see FIG. 1E), a cornucopia, a pilgrim or an Indian. For Christmas the attachment 14 may be a Christmas tree 14 f (see FIG. 14F), a present, a Santa Clause, an ornament, an angel or the like. Additionally, themed attachments 14 may be positioned on the placemat 12 like a birthday cake 14 g (see FIG. 1G) for a birthday party. Seasons may also be reflected with the attachment 14 like a sun, bathing suit, or waves to reflect summer; leaves and trees to reflect fall; snowflakes or sleds for winter, and flowers and baby animals for spring. Finally, worded attachments may be used where sentiments are reflected like “Congratulations!”, or “Surprise!”. The different styles of attachments 14 listed to reflect the various holidays and occasions is not an exhaustive list. Many other pictures and illustrations may be used.

The attachment 14 may fasten to a top surface of the placemat 12 with a securing means 16. A first portion of the securing means 16 a may be fastened to the top surface of the placemat 12, and a second portion of the securing means 16 b may be fastened to a backside of the attachment 14. The securing means 16 enables the attachment 14 to be easily removed from the placemat 12, and then replaced with another themed attachment 14. The securing means 16 may be a hook and loop fastener, commonly known as Velcro®, a snap or the like. The first portion of the securing means 16 a may be the looped portion of Velcro®, so that the feel is soft against the user's hand in case no attachment 14 is in place. The second portion of the securing means 16 b may be the hooked portion of Velcro®.

With the convertible placemat set 10 the user is afforded a set of placemats to reflect any occasion. The convertible placemat set 10 allows the users to utilize the same set of placemats for many different occasions, effectively reducing the space required for storing table linens and accessories. The easy to use removable attachments 14 provide an inexpensive, practical and convenient table setting ideal for users who love to entertain, as well as everyday users who want to add a special touch to their place settings.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A convertible placemat comprising: a. a placemat; b. a removable attachment, where the removable attachment fastens to a top surface of the placemat; and c. a securing means, where the securing means fastens the removable attachment to the placemat.
 2. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the placemat comprises one of at least a circular, square or rectangular shape.
 3. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the placemat includes scalloped edges.
 4. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the removable attachment illustrates a holiday.
 5. The convertible placemat according to claim 4, where the illustrated holiday on the removable attachment is one of at least Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and Halloween.
 6. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the removable attachment is shaped as one of at least a clover, heart, basket, pumpkin, turkey, Christmas tree, and cake.
 7. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the securing means is a hook and loop fastener.
 8. The convertible placemat according to claim 7, where a looped portion of the hook and loop fastener is fastened to the top surface of the placemat, and a hooked portion of the hook and loop fastener is fastened to a backside of the removable attachment.
 9. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the securing means is a snap.
 10. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the placemat is in a set of
 4. 11. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the placemat is in a set of
 8. 12. The convertible placemat according to claim 1, where the placemat is in a set of
 12. 